Tag Archives: career advice

Remember acrostic poems from elementary school? You usually had to make a poem describing yourself using the letters of your first name, tell me I’m not alone here! Regardless, hardly anything makes me more nostalgic than thinking about those wondrous Spring Break vacations my family and I went on throughout my childhood, and thus comes my inspiration for this post! While our younger selves had no responsibility, and certainly no job hunting to be done, us older folk must use this time off school wisely for career gain! Without further ado, here’s a Spring Break to-do list acrostic poem style for us older, more career-focused individuals.

Scrub your resume

Spring cleaning friends! There’s no better time to scrub and polish your resume than when you have a week long break from academics. Update it with career relevant coursework, experiences, and work you’ve completed through the winter. Make sure your resume has only relevant information; for example, it may be time to get rid of your “lifeguard for three summers” bullet point to make room for more relevant jobs/responsibilities.

Prioritize

Spring break means you can do anything! Sleep til noon, binge watch a Netflix series, or explore a new city. While all of the aforementioned activities are super fun, they aren’t very productive; especially in regards to your job search. Instead of sleeping til noon, prioritize your responsibilities and take this free time to put a real dent in your career search. Research companies, make connections, and improve your LinkedIn profile.

Regulate your social outlets

When I say regulate, I mean control. And when I’m talking about control, I’m talking about your social media. Spring Break isn’t known for its….ermm… classiness. Make sure you aren’t posting statuses/pictures/comments on your social media platforms that you wouldn’t want a recruiter to see.

Informational Interview

Spring break gives you a lot of free time! Yay! Use this free time to connect with people in your network, and ask for an informational interview. Check out how to score and informational interview from here.

*disclaimer: the article suggests you ask your contact to meet you for coffee and chat about the job, but recruiters have told me they prefer candidates let the employee choose whatever is easiest for them (e.g. coffee vs. e-mail vs. phone conversation).

Network

Spring Break means being social right?! So while you’re out having a good time, and acting classy make some quality contacts! You never know who you might meet, so make sure you carry some business cards with you at all times. You can get inexpensive business cards from vista print.

Go get ‘em

Now go get ‘em you rockstar, you! You’ve done your homework, made connections, and beefed up your resume, now’s the time to start applying and interviewing for that amazing job/internship.

You’ve been a student your entire life! The daily ritual of getting up, going to class, and doing homework has become nothing short of a habit for you. But unlike Peter Pan, you have to grow up and become a professional with a career. Here are three easy ways to act like a professional while you’re still technically a student.

1. Polish your image

You’ve slowly created a public image of yourself over the years. Whether it’s your voice mail, e-mail address, or social media presence, they all speak about who you are. For this reason, it’s important as a professional to polish your professional image. Change your voice mail to a simple one that a recruiter will understand and respect. Make sure you create an e-mail address that is professionally appropriate, no more “h0tbAbe545@aol.com.” Instead, opt for an e-mail address that includes some variation of your first and last name. Lastly, make sure your profile pictures across all media are appropriate. While you can make these accounts private, people can usually still see your profile picture.

2. Invest in business cards

Business cards are a great way to make sure your new connections have a way to contact you. I know it sounds a little weird to have business cards as a student, but they are the easiest way a person can retain your contact information. You can buy relatively inexpensive business cards, some sights, like vista print, even offer free business card options. As a student, consider putting your school name, major, and expected graduation date on your new cards. Be sure to include your full name, e-mail, and phone number. Bonus: if you have a LinkedIn Account, then include your URL.